


Surprise?

by Small_Town_Wayward_Daughter



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 20:48:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8260084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Town_Wayward_Daughter/pseuds/Small_Town_Wayward_Daughter
Summary: You are on the run, have been for a long time and run into Jacob, he tries to protect you but you have a rather large surprise for him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by Clairese
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3

I was a runaway, that is what the system labeled me as, they had no idea. I was young when I started out on my own, I had to be, I was one of the last females of my kind and that meant that I was wanted for breeding. One of my foster families found out about what I was and tried to sell me, I was bought by an 18 year old when I was ten and I stayed with him for a while, let him build up trust, then I ran. I bounced around for a while after that, until I met Billy Black when I was fourteen, I had been living in the woods in Washington and I hadn't realized that I had wandered onto the reservation, he had found me asleep by the river. He woke me up, offered me a safe place to stay and a hot meal, I had heard stories about the wolves of Washington but I knew that Billy was safe, he was wheel chair bound.  
"Are you coming or what?" He asked me in a soft tone.  
"I'm fine on my own." I muttered and pulled my hood up higher around my face.  
"I know, but you look hungry and it's going to snow tonight." I believed that, it was freezing already. I heard a yell and saw a boy around my age running up to us.  
"Whose this dad?"  
"She hasn't told me her name yet."  
"Clairese." I muttered and he nodded  
"I'm Jacob, you can call me Jake." He gave me a grin and I just nodded. "Where are your parents?" He asked and I felt pain flash through me. I looked up at him with dead eyes.  
"They're dead." Billy frowned and I knew what he was thinking, how could a kid look so haunted, what have I seen?  
"My mom's dead." Jake told me and I nodded.  
"Will I be safe with you?" I asked Billy and I leaned in closer so that I could tell if he was lying. I could smell it when someone lied to me.  
"Yes, No harm will come to you in my home." I gave him a long hard look before I nodded and went to grab my bag.  
"Why'd she smell you dad?" I heard Jake ask and Billy just laughed. I walked back with my bag and he turned his chair around so he could maneuver back up the path. It took me a long time to get used to life in a home where no one knew what I was. I had to remain calm and keep my emotions in check, I could never lose control or it would be over. I went to school with Jake, and we had some of the same friends, I tried really hard to fit in but I was always a loner. Jake tried to keep me in his group, to never make me feel unwanted even if people told him that his 'pale faced sister' was weird. I looked nothing like the kids on the Rez. I was 5'3, pale skin, red hair and brown eyes.  
  
I spent the past few years with Billy and Jake. I was 17 now and working at the store on the Rez, Jake had been glad that Bella moved back to town, I guess they played together as kids but Bella was shy and never really spoke to me, we were both quiet and I never really saw the point of letting her in. It was easy to tell that Jake liked Bella and I tried to act like I didn't have feelings for Jake but I knew that Billy saw through me. He would give me small smiles when Bella would come up in conversation and he would understand when I went off on my own when Bella and her father came to visit. I would go deep into the woods and shift, I had to make sure I was near the river in case anyone came upon me, I could pretend that I was taking a swim and it was believable. Jake and I had been at the beach when Bella and her friends had shown up on the beach. I scoffed as he bailed on me and our soccer game to go talk to her, until Embry came over to talk to me. Embry was shy like me and we had always been friends.  
"Hey Clairese."  
"Hi Embry."  
"Want to take a walk?" He asked and I nodded, we walked down the beach a bit and I heard some of Bella's friends screaming on the beach, then I saw Jake walking with Bella and she was flirting with him. "Are you going to tell him how you feel?" Embry asked me and I just looked at him.  
"Who?"  
"Don't act dumb Clairese." I sighed.  
"No, He loves Bella. Besides I don't belong here and I know that no one here thinks I do. Telling him would only make it worse." Embry took my hand in his and gave it a friendly squeeze. I put my head on his shoulder and looked at the water.  
"You do belong here, I want you here, Billy loves you." I nodded and he just leaned his head against mine, we sat like that for a while, talking and laughing.  
"Clairese!" I looked up at Jake and he looked a little angry. "What are you doing?"  
"Sitting with Embry." I replied and Embry pulled away from me. "Where'd your friend go?" I looked around and saw that we were the only ones left on the beach.  
"It started raining, they went home. Are you coming with me or staying here?" I looked surprised at him but stood up.  
"I'll come with you I guess." I looked at Embry and he gave me a small smile before he walked away. Jake huffed and took off towards our house and I jogged to keep up with him. "What's wrong with you?" I asked him and he just ignored me. "Jake?"  
"Are you and Embry together?" He stopped and I skidded into him.  
"What?"  
"Are you and Embry together?" He asked again.  
"N-no, were just friends." He nodded and relaxed a little. "Why?"  
"I was just curious."  
"Were you jealous?" I asked and he scoffed at me.  
"Why would I be? You're nothing to me." He asked and then he realized what he said. "No, t-that's not what I meant." I nodded and kept walking. I ignored him as he called out for me and before I knew it I was running deep into the woods. I used my abilities to climb a tall tree and I stayed there to weep in peace. I heard a wolf howl, and I stiffened. It was getting dark and I was out here alone. I jumped out of the tree and ran home, Billy saw my puffy eyes and the leaves in my hair.  
"What happened?"  
"I heard wolves in the woods and got scared." I told him as I walked past him, a little out of breath.  
"How far in were you?"  
"Pretty far, I lost track of how far I'd gone until it was getting dark." He nodded  
"Why were you crying?"  
"I wasn't." I muttered as Jake came in.  
"Where the hell were you? I was looking for you." Jake asked me and I just ignored him.  
"What did you do Jake?"  
"I said something stupid and hurt her feelings." I closed the door to my room so that I didn't have to listen to his recap. I didn't come out of my room that night, I wanted to be alone, I had let myself forget that I would always be alone. Even if I was surrounded by people. I made breakfast before school the next morning and Billy had told us that Charlie was coming to visit, Jake asked about Bella and Billy told him that she was going to be with her boyfriend. I tried not to notice that Jake got really quiet and seemed sad but I wasn't that mean. I followed him out to the garage and sat with him until he started to talk.  
"Why are you here?" He asked and I shrugged.  
"I may be nothing to you, but you're my friend." He frowned and sighed at me.  
"That's not what I meant and you know it."  
"It doesn't matter, I'm sorry about Bella." We talked for a while until Quill and Embry came over, I headed inside since Quill and I never got along. I had to get ready for work anyway and Embry gave me a hug before I left.  
  
The next few months passed in a blur Bella left, and then came back a few days later in a cast and injured, Then a few months after that the Cullen's left town and I knew that Billy was glad for that. Bella had started spending a lot of time at our house and that meant that I hadn't been.  
"Clairese please, just give her a chance." Jake had begged me.  
"I have Jake, we just don't get along ok?" He sighed.  
"Fine, I'll hang out with you guys."  
"Great! A group of us are going to the movies and I want you to come too." I nodded and waved him out of my room. "Be ready to go by five!" He yelled and I chucked my pillow at him. I was ready by five and we picked up Bella and her friend Mike, there was supposed to be more people but they were sick. I noticed that Jake changed how he acted around Bella, he was attentive and even took her hand at one point, I then noticed that Mike looked green and I moved out of his was when he ran out of the theater to be sick. Jake was mocking him but I felt really bad for the poor kid. Jake took Bella's hand and then she led him away so they could talk. I was surprised when Mike came out and Jake snapped at him, even threatened him.  
"I don't feel well." He said and then he drove Mike home, then dropped Bella off in a hurry before he sped us home.  
"What's wrong Jake?" I kept asking him and he just shook his head.  
"I need my dad." He said when we parked and I ran inside to get Billy. He demanded that I stay inside and I did, I never went against Billy. Things changed after that night, Jake spent a lot of time with some older boys. Sam, Paul, Jared and a few others, he cut his hair and got a tattoo, he even got taller and more buff too. I knew that something wasn't right because his scent changed but I never brought it up. I hung around Embry a lot once Jake changed, he was as lost as I was but I was just glad that I had someone and I think he was too. Jake would be gone all the time, then he would be home for a few hours and leave again, he never wore a shirt and all his jeans had been cut into shorts. Bella showed up early one morning and barged into the house, she was leaving when Paul and Sam showed up and she went to confront them. I went outside to watch and I watched her slap him, then he burst into the form of a wolf and I gasped. She turned to run away and Jake rushed out of the house. I watched the boy I had loved for years turn into a large brown wolf and then I ran to his aid.  
"Clairese don't!" Billy shouted at me but I ignored him and I ran into the fight. Paul growled and advanced on me and i felt my temper spike. I felt that familiar shimmer and I heard them both yelp. I was standing eye to eye with the wolf that was Paul and I was in the form of a panther.  
"What the hell?" I looked and saw that Jake had changed back. "Clairese?" I nodded and shifted back as Sam got a hold of Paul.  
"Surprise?." I muttered as I stared at Jake.


	2. Chapter 2

We all got dressed and sat down to have a very long conversation after Bella went home. Sam scared me a little as he yelled at me but Billy kicked him out until he could calm down, then he called a family meeting.   
"How long have you been a panther?" Billy asked   
"All my life."  
"Why aren't you with your pack?"   
"They were hunted down and killed. My mother shipped me off when I was eight, right before she died."   
"Why were they hunted down?" I told him about my family and the hunter and the panther who wanted the elite to join him for breeding. How he had tried to buy me from my family when I was a baby and they refused so he had them killed, then he found me in foster care and bought me from them. I told Billy about building his trust and then escaping and how I had been on my own until now. He looked at me with such sadness that I had to look away from him. I told him about my abilities and he said that I was a shifter like the wolves were, that we had the high temperature, the reflexes, the healing, I could jump far and high while the wolves were strong but we both were very similar, except that their change comes when they run across a vampire. I knew that vampires were real and Billy was impressed by that. I looked at Jake and he was just staring at me, Billy stepped outside to talk with Sam so I spoke to Jake.   
"Aren't you going to say anything?"   
"I have been avoiding you for months so that you wouldn't get hurt and you already knew."  
"I didn't know, I had my own secret Jake."  
"I had no idea that you were so alone and had such a hard life." He shook his head and I moved to sit by him  
"I couldn't tell you. I wasn't going to show you but I had to protect you."   
"I am glad that I don't have to hide from you anymore, I missed you."  
"I missed you too. What about Bella?"  
"What about her?"  
"She knows what you are now."  
"Yeah, I'm not worried though, she knows that the Cullen's are vampires so she already knows about the supernatural world."  
"I guess that makes sense."  
"You're a pretty panther." He said and I smiled at him.   
"I like your wolf."   
"Wanna go for a run?" I nodded and we headed outside, I looked at Sam and he gave me a nod that I returned and then Jake and I took off. We ran for a long time until Jake wanted to change back. "I couldn't hear you." He said and I frowned.  
"I'm not part of your pack Jake. I knew that you wouldn't be able to." He nodded, "Besides, a panther can hear any panther, packs don't really matter much."  
"I know but I hoped." I felt like we were being watched and I looked over my shoulder but there was no one there. We headed inside after we got dressed and I made some dinner, today was a very strange, long, stressful day and I was ready for bed. Jake and I became even closer, the pack even started to treat me differently after Sam spoke to them. They were fine with me hanging out with them and I started to get close to Jared too. Paul was still Paul but that was ok now that he wasn't trying to hurt Jake.  
  
I went for a run early one morning, Jake had asked me not to go without him but I needed to get out and feel the wind in my fur. I was by the river when I smelled something that I never thought I would again, another panther. I looked around and saw him across the river from me. He was huge and I felt myself shrink under his gaze.   
" _Hello little one_ " He spoke to me.  
" _Who are you?_ "  
" _You don't remember me?_ " He curled back his lips and bared his fangs at me.   
" _It's been a long time._ " I backed up a step and then i stiffened as I heard someone coming up behind me. The panther growled and ran into the woods.   
" _I'll see you soon my pet._ " I shuddered and then turned to see Jake staring at me, he nudged me with his head and I rubbed against him as I shifted back to human form. he shifted back too and spoke to me.  
"Was that what I think it was?"  
"Another panther? Yeah." I sighed and tugged my shirt on.  
"Who was that?"   
"I think it was the one that I escaped from but I didn't talk to him for very long." I knew that I needed to find his lair and I needed to do it fast, He would pick a tall tree, one with a lot of branches so he could hide and I would be able to smell it a mile away.  
"We need to tell Sam." He announced and I nodded.   
"You go ahead, I need a minute to process." He frowned but nodded and shifted, I gave his head a rub before he left and then I shifter and crossed the river. I was on high alert as I hunted for the other panther and his lair. I finally found it and I was right, it was a high well covered tree and he had made himself at home.   
" _I'm surprised you're this close little one._ " I whipped around and faced the panther.  
" _I wanted to see where you were staying at these days._ "  
" _My home is far more beautiful. You'll see._ " The subtle threat made my fur stand up a bit.  
" _Actually I won't. This is my home._ " He snarled at me and lunged at me, We scuffled and he pinned me to the forest floor.  
" _Watch your tone little one, I bought you fair and square. You running away has cost me a lot of time._ " I growled and swiped at him.  
" _I am not something that can be bought! I am the last of my pack and I won't go with you!_ " He chuckled in my head and let me go.  
" _You dare challenge me Clairese?_ " I flinched at the use of my name.  
" _I do. I challenge you Mikhail. I challenge you for my freedom._ " He snarled at me but nodded.   
" _Tomorrow morning at 7 in this clearing. No one can help either of us and the one who either pins the other for five seconds or dies first wins. And when I win, you come with me. No fussing and no one trying to stand in the way._ " I nodded and walked backwards away from him. I ran home and found Sam, Billy, and Jake waiting for me.   
"What happened?" Jake asked.  
"I have to beat him for my right to be free." I muttered and his eyes widened.   
"When?" I grimaced and looked away from him.  
"Tomorrow afternoon." He frowned  
"How did he find you?" Sam asked me.  
"I don't know but he has been here for a while. His lair reeked." Sam nodded. He asked a few more questions before he left to talk to the others. Jake went with him and Billy turned to me.   
"What happens if you lose?"   
"I have to go with him, no arguing and no one can get involved." He nodded and gave me a soft smile.   
"Jake says that he is huge." I nodded and stood up.  
"I'm gonna go sit on the beach." He patted my back as I walked by. I was there for about an hour before Jake came and sat with me. He took my hand in his and tugged me onto his lap so that he could hug me. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back, I let myself be close to him just in case I lost tomorrow.   
"I don't want you to go tomorrow." He said and I sighed.  
"I have to try, or he will just take me."   
"I'd like to see him try." Jake said in a dark tone and I shook my head.   
"No. He would call in more hunters and they would burn this place to the ground looking for you. Then they would take me and I would be in worse trouble."  
"I love you." I froze  
"What?"  
"I love you Clairese."   
"I-I love you too Jake."   
"Then let me come with you?" I shook my head.   
"You can't come, you'll get involved in the fight and I'll lose. I promise I'll be back with you by tomorrow night." He pulled back and cupped my face in his big hands, He leaned forward and kissed me softly.   
"I'm holding you to that promise." I smiled and put my head on his shoulder. We sat like that for a few hours, until Billy called us in for dinner. We walked back hand in hand and I knew that if I got to stay things would be different for us. Jake slept in my room that night and I had to sneak out from under his arm so that I didn't wake him. I left him and Billy a note.   
' _I'm sorry I lied, but if you knew that I was leaving to battle this morning you would have been awake and it would have been impossible to leave. I love you both with all my heart. Thank you for taking me in and giving me a family again. I hope this isn't goodbye but if it is, please know that I love you and always will. - C._ '  
  
I walked into the clearing at two minutes to seven and saw that he was sitting there waiting for me. His ears perked up and he seemed to look smug. _"Well I have to admit I didn't think that you would show._ "  
_"I told you I was coming._ "   
_"Lets begin shall we?_ " I nodded and we got into position. We circled each other for a while before he lunged at me and took a swipe. I jumped back and swiped back at him. He came for me again and I swiped at his face, catching him lip with my claws. He growled and turned to look at me. _"That was a mistake._ " He lunged and caught me by the throat with his teeth, I struggled out of his grip and used my back feet to kick him away from me. He let out a snarl and jumped on my back. I rolled and clawed his sides, gripping onto him as he rolled again. I hadn't realized that we were moving through the forest until I saw the cliff in the distance. I could use that to my advantage. He rolled and tried to get me off of him, once we got closer to the cliff I got underneath him and let him think that he was winning. _"Is that all you have little one?_ "  
_"No._ " I dug my back legs into his belly, gripped him with my claws and threw him over the edge. He let out a scream as he fell and I crawled to the ledge to look over, he was laying at the bottom of a hundred foot drop. He had turned back into a human once he died. I rolled onto my side and took a deep breath. I felt myself shift back to human form and I stumbled over to where my clothes were stashed. I was loosing a lot of blood but I knew that it would be healed in a little while so I got dressed and sat against a tree to wait it out. I heard snuffling and looked up to see Jake standing there in wolf form.  
"Hi Jake." I grinned and gave him a little wave. He threw back his head and howled as he shifted to his normal self.   
"Where is he?" He asked as he got dressed. I pointed over the cliff and he went to look. "You won." I nodded and he came to sit by me. "How bad are you hurt?"   
"I'll be fine in a little while. Just scratches" He nodded and lifted me onto his lap.   
"If you ever leave without saying goodbye again I will never forgive you." He said as he buried his face in my hair.  
"I won't. I have no reason to leave you Jake." He nodded and pulled back to kiss me.   
"Wanna be my girlfriend?" He asked and I smiled softly.  
"What about Bella?" He frowned and shook his head.  
"There isn't anyone for me but you. I promise." I grinned and nodded.   
"I'm holding you to that promise."


End file.
